Crude oil futures ended lower on Wednesday on concerns about outlook for demand. Oil prices rose despite data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventory in the U.S. dropped by 17.049 million barrels in the week ended July 28, substantially larger than an expected drop of just about 1.37 million barrels. The EIA data also showed gasoline inventory rose by 1.480 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles dropped by 0.796 million barrels. The EIA also said U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.5 million barrels per day during the week ending July 28, up 0.04 million barrels more than the previous week's average.
Benchmark crude oil futures for September delivery fell $0.88 or about 2.3 percent to settle at $79.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery dropped $1.71 or 2 percent to settle at $83.20 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.